Legislative in Zimbabwe: a “crucial” test before the general elections of 2023

Published on: 26/03/2022 – 11:18 Zimbabweans vote on Saturday in legislative and local by-elections, seen as a test for opposition leader Emmerson Mnangangwa, who plans to run for president in 2023. Zimbabweans vote, Saturday, March 26, in partial legislative and local elections, considered as a warm-up round for the ruling regime as well as the opposition, before the general elections of 2023. Voters must elect 133 local and parliamentary representatives across the country. These polls aroused such interest that the president, Emmerson Mnangangwa, organized several meetings to personally support the candidates of the ruling ZANU-PF. Opposition leader Nelson Chamisa, considered Emmerson Mnangangwa’s main opponent, formed a new party, the Citizens’ Coalition for Change (CCC), three months ago. “We are entering a crucial by-election…it’s a trial run for the 2023 elections,” Nelson Chamisa said Thursday at his final campaign rally in a working-class area on the outskirts of Harare. The CCC has drawn massive crowds to its rallies, but its officials have complained of increasing repression by the authorities, with several rallies banned by police during the two-month campaign. Violent electoral campaignIn February, clashes during an opposition rally left one dead and 22 injured. During the campaign, the country’s vice-president, Constantino Chiwenga, compared the opposition to lice that should be “crushed”. ZANU-PF, which has ruled the country since its independence from the United Kingdom in 1980, has also drawn large numbers of supporters to its rallies. His critics accuse Emmerson Mnangagwa, who succeeded Robert Mugabe in 2017, in power for 37 years, of muzzling dissidents. The day before the election, Nelson Chamisa’s party denounced irregularities, citing in particular errors in the electoral lists. “We need change. We should give the opposition a chance. This government has proven to be a failure,” Jasen Maeka, a 42-year-old unemployed man, said after casting his ballot in central Harare. With AFP